New York City and its Youth

SINY 34: New York City and its Youth: Learning in and out of the Classroom - 4 units

The New York City Department of Education serves roughly 1.1 million students. Put another way, roughly one out of every 330 *people* in the United States is a student served by the nation’s largest public school system. How does this massive, dynamic, complex, diverse, complicated city and its people support and educate its youth – in formal and informal settings, both in and beyond its schools and classrooms?

Understanding the scale, approach, impact, and importance of this project provides an enlightening glimpse into the social, political, historical, geographical, and cultural dynamics of a unique American and global city. Approaching an exploration of the city through the lens of its youth also provides an important angle of perspective that will help shape one’s understanding of New York City, as well as its values, priorities, systems, opportunities, limitations, and more.

Meet the Instructor(s)

Ira Lit

Ira W. Lit is a Professor (Teaching) at the Stanford Graduate School of Education, where he also serves as the Faculty Director of the Stanford Teacher Education Program (STEP).  Professor Lit is the co-lead of Stanford’s initiative on Learning Differences and the Future of Special Education. He formerly served as the faculty sponsor of the Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in Education (SCOPE). Professor Lit recently spent a year as a Stanford “Scholars in Service” Fellow engaged as a Senior Policy Fellow in the Office of United States Senator, Cory A. Booker. Professor Lit is currently serving as a Commissioner on the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. His book, “The Bus Kids,” explores the experiences of minority students in a voluntary desegregation program.